On March 17, many Caribbean islands celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in honor of Ireland’s patron saint and his role in spreading Christianity, particularly Catholicism as a religion. He is thought to have died on March 17, 460 A.D.
However, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on the Caribbean island of Montserrat to commemorate the life and ordeal of nine or more enslaved West Africans who were killed and banished for their role in a slave revolt planned for March 17, 1768.
According to Caribbean & Co., the enslaved decided to start an uprising on St. Patrick’s Day because it was a time when their owners and supervisors held feasts and drank a lot of alcohol at the Government House.
The celebrations were to allow them to carry out their plan of undermining the authority of the slave owners and gaining their freedom. However, the revolt was put down before it began because an Irish woman overheard the enslaved West Africans plotting the rebellion.
After their botched revolt, nine of the uprising’s leaders were hanged, and more than 30 of the enslaved were placed in cells and then driven away from Montserrat.
Though their attempt to defy colonial authority was unsuccessful, the nine slaves who were executed became martyrs and are remembered every March 17 in a week-long celebration.
According to historians, the decision to honor the lives of the nine enslaved did not occur on a national level until the Montserrat Secondary School educational project ‘Know Your Past’ in 1972 brought public attention to the event leading to the killing of the nine enslaved.
It gained public attention during an exhibition on March 17, 1972, where the students walked the gathering of historical antecedents through art, music, and drama of Montserrat’s dark past.
Public awareness of the events that led to the killing of the nine slaves and the banishment of more than 30 enslaved touched the hearts of many on that fateful day.
It is believed the bold disobedience by the enslaved of the status quo triggered the cause to demand the abolishment of slavery in the Caribbean.
In 1834, the United Kingdom outlawed slavery bringing an end to the inhumane trade of humans for forced labor on plantations.
Since then, inhabitants of Montserrat hold various festivities to usher in the St. Patrick Day’s parade on March 17. The day is heralded by public education on the heritage and culture of Montserrat as well as social events to commemorate the day.
The heart of the celebration is to honor the resilience and determination of the enslaved for their decision to fight for their freedom at the peril of their lives.
St. Patrick’s Day was declared a national holiday in 1985, not in honor of the patron saint of Ireland, but those who laid down their lives to enable the region to gain its freedom from the shackles of slavery.
The celebration begins with a parade in Salem by inhabitants of Montserrat who are descendants of enslaved West Africans who were brought by Irish sailors.